‘Sentencing senior vice-chairman Tarique aimed to destroy BNP’

The BNP yesterday termed sentencing party senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman for seven years in a money laundering case as last step of destroying the party.“Now, question arises on our existence. None will be able to survive. We have come out from this situation,” said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir while speaking at rally at Jatiya Press Club.
The city unit of BNP organized the rally protesting the High Court verdict. City BNP convenor Mirza Abbas chaired the meeting.
A High Court bench on Thursday sentenced BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman to seven-year imprisonment and slapped a fine of Tk. 20.41 crore on him after quashing a trial court verdict that had acquitted him in a money-laundering case.
Mirza Alamgir alleged that the case against Tarique Rahman was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with a political motive and there is no truth in it. “The verdict was given only to keep Tarique Rahman out of politics,” he added.
Accusing the government of implicating each of the BNP leaders and activists in “false cases”, he said virtually they fall the nation in the net of cases.
He accused the government of filing “false cases” one after another out of its bankruptcy and said they are trying to turn the country into a failed state in the name of militancy.
“The Awami League has become a politically bankruptcy. Now, the government is trying to turn Bangladesh internationally as a failed state,” he alleged.
The BNP leader expressed his hope that the whole world is with the people of Bangladesh.
“We want cooperation and friendship from foreign countries. But we will resist any attack on our sovereignty,” he added.
BNP standing committee members—Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Nazrul Islam Khan, vice chairman Selima Rahman and Abdullah Al Noman, among others, also spoke at the rally.
Meanwhile, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) will stage demonstration and bring out procession on July 26 and 27 protesting the High court verdict.
JCD office secretary Abdus Sattar Patwary said all city units of JCD will stage demonstration and bring out procession on July 26 and city, district and educational institutions on July 27.
Earlier on Saturday, the BNP, except Dhaka city, staged demonstrations in different places in the country on Saturday. Organisers alleged that they could not hold demonstration in Dhaka on Saturday as police did not give them permission.-STAFF REPORTER